You are currently running ad blocking software. Please be aware this may prevent non-ad features of this site from working properly, including social media icons, display of products in our store, and other features. [Close this notice.]

Survey: majority of Americans, including Catholics, support same-sex marriage

February 27, 2014

53% of Americans-- including 58% of white Catholics and 56% of Latino Catholics-- now support same-sex marriage, according to a survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute.

In 2003, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a 59%-32% margin.

“Roughly three-quarters (73%) of Catholics believe that most of their fellow congregants are opposed to same-sex marriage,” the survey continued. “However, Catholics who regularly attend church are in fact divided on the issue (50% favor, 45% oppose).”

“Majorities of Americans perceive three religious groups to be unfriendly to LGBT people: the Catholic Church (58%), the Mormon church (53%), and evangelical Christian churches (51%),” the survey added. “At least two-thirds of LGBT Americans perceive both the Catholic Church (73%) and evangelical Christian churches (67%) as being unfriendly toward LGBT people.”

The report also found that

72% of white Catholics and 66% of Latino Catholics “agree gay and lesbian couples can be as good as parents as heterosexual couples”

63% of white Catholics and 66% of Latino Catholics support adoption by homosexual couples

“Fewer than half of white Catholics say smoking marijuana (38%) and same-gender sexual relations are morally wrong (46%), while a majority say having an abortion (56%) and viewing pornography (67%) are morally wrong. In contrast, large majorities of Hispanic Catholics say viewing pornography (78%), having an abortion (77%), smoking marijuana (66%) are morally wrong, while fewer-- though still a majority (53%)-- say sex between two adults of the same gender is morally wrong.”

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

This only goes to show that we need more homilies on the sins of our times -- the homosexual lifestyle, abortion, contraception, fornication. How long has it been since you've heard condemnation of any of the above, with the possible exception of a few words on the evils of abortion? We hear more about citizenship for illegal immigrants and why we should reward those who break the immigration laws of our country.

Posted by: Chestertonian -
Feb. 27, 2014 11:40 PM ET USA

Ah yes, and opinion polls trump the truth, do they? All these polls really indicate is the failure of evangelization of current generations of white Catholics. Obviously, the mainstream media hold more sway than the USCCB with a large swath of so-called Christian Americans, if the poll is an accurate reflection of our beliefs, which I tend to question. I pay more attention to election results, and those should be a wake-up call to the bishops about the poor job they're doing.

Posted by: cellakon52529 -
Feb. 27, 2014 10:08 PM ET USA

Catholics need to learn the basic teachings of the Church, and they need
to learn how to think straight. What will the long-term results be ten or
twenty years down the road when we have multiple forms of "marriage" plus
divorce?

Stay in Touch!

Subscribe to Insights

Stay on top of the latest Catholic news and analysis from CatholicCulture.org.